


Descent into Madness

by bob_eclipsa_smith



Series: The Altean Witch [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Gen, I'm Sorry, i have sinned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2019-01-18 21:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,307
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12396795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bob_eclipsa_smith/pseuds/bob_eclipsa_smith
Summary: It was unintentional at first. It all began with a sick cat, and a naïve Altean scientist who knew virtually nothing of the life she was to lead.





	Descent into Madness

**Author's Note:**

> Forgive me for I have sinned.

It was unintentional at first.

Kova was sick. Really sick.

The black cat’s fur gleamed a dull coal color, and Honerva could easily count each individual rib from his thin form. And still, the cat’s eyes regarded his master with all the love he had before this dreadful virus took hold of him. As though he knew he wouldn't last much longer.

It was horribly horrible for Honerva. All these scenarios and possible cures swirling around in that sharp mind of hers and yet none of them, _none_ of them worked.

Kova simply grew more ill with each passing tick. His bones became more prominent within the growingly fragile skin and his eyes began to gloss over as the illness spread.

It wasn't long before Honerva began picking up small black clumps of fur from various places, began to see small bald spots on her faithful cat’s fur.

The attempts to scientifically cure her Kova grew more and more desperate with every single worsening symptom that Honerva could see.

She was running out of time.

And then _it_ happened.

The single most wonderful thing that could _ever_ have happened.

Quintessence.

 _Quintessence_.

Kova was saved. _He was saved._

Honerva watched mystified as the beautiful silver energy from her work began swirling around her dying cat, his yellow eyes narrowing as they regarded it with mistrust. His tail flicked weakly back and forth as the quintessence surrounded him completely, engulfing Kova in a brilliant silvery-blue light.

Honerva held her breath.

One tick passed. Two ticks. Three.

The quintessence separated itself from Kova, the glowing energy source seeping back into the rift that had housed it. Kova was blissfully intact. Tail fluffed, eyes healthy and sparkling with newly apparent youth. His stomach filled out to the point where a relieved Honerva could no longer count each individual rib on her cat.

Kova meowed placidly at his owner, yellow eyes regarding her thoughtfully. Honerva couldn't be sure, but she could've sworn they were turned up in a relieved smile.

A brief heartbeat of repose, and then Honerva’s pencil was scratching frantically on her notepad, her sharp mind clicking away rapidly, sifting through the infinite possibilities that quintessence could bring her and the realm of science.

 _Quintessence_. What a lovely discovery.

———

_(A burst of quick pain lanced across her forearm as she cut a small sliver of her skin. Honerva watched impassively as red liquid surfaced, responding to the wound. Carefully, the Altean alchemist plopped three liquid drops of the quintessence energy to her wound, watching with naïve mystification as the cut knitted itself back together, leaving behind nothing but unblemished olive skin. There was nothing to prove that the wound had ever been there in the first place. Honerva smiled, rubbed the smooth skin, and scribbled down more of her findings in her expanding notebook.)_

———

“Honerva, you've been in there all day. Have you found anything of interest?”

Honerva stiffened in surprise as two arms wrapped themselves around her waist, and a light pressure rested on her shoulder. She relaxed immediately, allowing herself to enjoy the warm embrace of her husband. She shut her eyes, her hands clasping over his larger ones.

“Mm-hm,” she hummed thoughtfully. “It's incredible. I had no idea that something this powerful existed in the universe!”

Zarkon's lips pressed against the nape of Honerva’s neck, eliciting an instinctive shudder to spread and goosebumps to creep. “Mmm,” he hummed in agreement. “I'm very impressed, Honerva. Your discoveries are incredible in themselves. Almost as impressive as you.”

Her heavy-lidded gaze turned to face her husband, and her lips met his. He responded smoothly to her touch, swinging her expertly around so that she was flush to his chest. He deepened the kiss, holding her protectively against him.

And just like that, the happiness bubbling in her chest grew exponentially, and she was sky high. As though a tiny portion of the quintessence had seeped into her very being and penetrated the depths of her soul.

———

( _Honerva idly traced the small wrinkles forming on the arm that had been used for countless tests with the quintessence._

_Some small part of her inexplicably knew that these experiments were unsafe, but the larger part was strong enough to brush aside any thoughts of quitting. It was simply too important. It didn't matter that her body was aging more rapidly than even possible, or that Kova was beginning to display symptoms of possible aggression. Kova was worth nothing. She was worth nothing. Quintessence was too important.  
_

_Honerva brushed those futile doubts to the back of her mind, and sliced into her arm once more, shoving the familiar pain that accompanied the action to the very same corner as her doubts_.)

———

She barely even noticed it when Alfor entered her workspace. The quintessence wouldn't let her. It's not like she wanted it to; she was part of something much larger, and King Alfor’s trivial desires were simply not necessary.

Still, Honerva was not an idiot; addressing a king was proper. So a small portion of her mind that had not yet been possessed by the quintessent life energy recognized Alfor, and responded to his greeting.

“Honerva,” his name caressed hers fondly. “Hard at work as always. Many thanks for the gift. Allura loves it!”

Honerva nodded dismissively, inwardly rolling her eyes at the pointless gratitude and equally awkward attempt to make conversation with her.

She didn't take her eyes off her computer screen to look at him ( _The quintessence seems to be able to heal even the sick and wounded. I've not yet experienced on another, other than myself and Kova, but I hope to. I wonder if the quintessence energy is enough to bring someone back from the dead…)._

“It was a customary gesture.” Honerva responded coolly. Alfor shuffled unnervingly. Honerva impassively kept typing ( _Honestly the sheer possibility of this new substance is limitless. If it can possibly bring someone back...imagine all the lives we’d be able to save. Imagine all the extraordinary things we could accomplish with the quintessence. Death would hardly be existent.)._

“How is our quintessence experiment?”

Honerva extended an olive hand towards the experiment. “Still running.” She replied.

Alfor descended into idle chatter with her husband soon thereafter. Honerva didn't listen in too closely. Her work was far too important. Their conversations would die out, a mere speck of light in the realm of time. Whereas her experiment would live on forever. She could do so much more than sitting around, listening to two friends prattle on and on about things that they hardly understood.

Honerva scoffed internally before increasing her typing rate.

_Ignorant fool._

“What is that?”

Honerva turned, dully intrigued. Perhaps they were more perceptive than she originally had thought. Alfor’s tan hand was almost touching the glass case that housed the creature from the rift.

Honerva glared pointedly, and he took it away. The Altean alchemist folded her arms together before explaining herself. “I've sent some signals into the neighboring reality and this creature answered the call.” She regarded the deftly moving creature with an odd sort of reverence, refusing to look anyplace else for fear of something happening beyond the realm of her control. “Nothing from our realm has been able to survive the passage through the rift, but somehow, he arrived unharmed.”

Alfor's eyes gleamed with an intriguing combination of outrage and curiosity, and a hand extended yet again as if to touch the glass container. Only this time, it was an olive hand instead of a deep regal mahogany. When Alfor finally spoke, it was in a chilled whisper, uninhibited concern and shock ringing out in his tone. “What? I thought we discussed this. We must exercise caution. We have no idea what is out there.”

Honerva pressed her hand tighter to the barrier, watching the little thing flit about inside. She sighed. Of _course_ Alfor wouldn't understand. Of course. She should have known.

She wanted oh-so-badly to scream at him that science was worth more than all three of their lives put together.

She wanted to yell at him and convince him just how important this experiment was to her, to explain to him that in the long run, their pitiful little lives meant nothing. Not compared to the potential of the quintessence.

But she didn't.

“The ancients thought that lightning was shot from the bows of the gods until science proved otherwise.” She pointed out matter-of-factly. “We must always push into dangerous territory in pursuit of knowledge.”

The creature’s sudden screech cut off Honerva’s speech, as though it were agreeing with her.

Alfor went eerily silent and then the canister exploded into a horde of the small purple-red creatures.

Honerva screamed, suddenly remembering how it felt to be afraid.

———

( _“Come on, Kova.” Honerva coaxed. “It's time.”  
_

_The cat’s ratty tail flicked back and forth, beady yellow eyes glowing with distrust at his master. His ear flicked once, and a mouth opened agape in a dispassionate yawn, exposing sharp pearly white canines.  
_

_Honerva sighed, grabbing a hold of her cat’s waist and pulling him out of his sanctum. He yowled indignantly, claws digging indignantly into Honerva's forearm in an attempt to free himself._

_She winced in pain, but placed him on the table. “Come on, Kova,” she cooed gently, running her hand through the cat’s fur. “I don't want you getting sick again. We have to keep treating you.”  
_

_Kova gave a surrendering meow, before allowing Honerva to do with him what she planned on, no matter how much he hated it, no matter how much he feared it, no matter how much it was affecting him…  
_

_...no matter how much it was affecting her_.)

———

The first time she laid her eyes on Voltron, Honerva had to admit that it was a rather extravagant project, and when Voltron stopped the horde of creatures, Honerva grew a deeper sort of respect for King Alfor.

But when he suggested that she close the rift for good, she lost all sort of respect for him that she had previously gained.

“Close the rift?” She echoed him incredulously. “Why?”

He eyed her in disbelief, as though she were the one being ridiculous. “It nearly _destroyed_ Daibazaal!” King Alfor retorted in outrage.

Honerva folded her arms in an act of the utmost defiance, blatantly refusing the abrupt end to her greatest experiment ever. “Those _creatures_ nearly destroyed Daibazaal and you found a way to defeat them!” Honerva corrected indignantly, determined amber eyes of hers meeting those of stern blue

He turned that ice blue gaze of his to his best friend. “Zarkon, surely you agree with me. It _must_ be closed.”

Honerva met Zarkon’s gaze, shaking her head in an almost imperceptible movement. Only when Zarkon’s eyes hardened was when Honerva understood that they were on the same side.

Zarkon uneasily sunk his eyes to meet the unyielding ones of King Alfor. “Perhaps not,” Zarkon said, deep baritone voice as strikingly calm as ever. “Look at what we've _gained_ , Alfor. Your ships are the most powerful things ever created. Who knows what else may be discovered if we keep working?”

Honerva touched Zarkon's hand in a gesture of affection. A small smile touched upon his lips in return.

Alfor, however, was not amused. “You would risk your entire planet, the entire _solar_ _system_ , for what? For more power?”

Zarkon took a sudden interest in his feet. “You know it's more than that.” He said quietly.

“We already have _Voltron_! You have to know when it's enough!”

Honerva saw Zarkon’s eyes flash in anger. “ _I'll_ decide what's enough on _my_ planet!” He snarled, throwing King Alfor into stunned silence. “I'm sorry, Alfor.” Zarkon said. “But the work will  
continue.”

Honerva cast a single glance back at the Altean king as she and Zarkon took their departure. Alfor met her gaze once, the blue achingly solemn and betrayed.

Somehow, Honerva didn't care.

They were going to continue their work with the quintessence, and that was infinitely more important than some silly feud between her husband and his best friend.

———

_(She barely recognized herself anymore._

_Amber eyes once gleaming with youth and life now stood out in stark contrast against her waning face. They were haunted, burdened with knowledge not meant for anyone to have seen. Her hair, once lush and purple, now shone a sickly white, and she wore it down to conceal the growing wrinkles on her face as well as the prominent weight loss._

_She looked horrible._

_**Haggard** , as Zarkon once pointed out._

_Honerva reached out a shriveled hand with spindly fingers to touch the back of her faithful cat, who had remained healthy throughout the past few deca-phoebs._

_She managed a smile. It didn't matter what they looked like._

_Science equalled danger and lives mattered very little in comparison with the great quintessence experiment._

_Honerva turned away from the haggard creature in the mirror, and instead went to write down new findings in her notebook._

_She had work to do.)_

———

“Hello, Honerva. It's been deca-phoebs.”

Honerva rolled her sunken eyes, drumming her skeletal fingers idly upon the keyboard. She had grown tired of King Alfor. He was getting to be bothersome.

“I hope you haven't come to try and shut down my work.” Honerva shot at him, wanting him out of her lab, out of her home and out of her life. “There is more hidden knowledge and power in this tiny fissure than you can _possibly_ understand."

Apparently, Alfor didn't get the message. Imbecile. “I'm only worried about the stability—”

Kova lept onto the keyboard, placing his small head lovingly under Honerva’s thin hand. The cat purred as he swiftly moved across the panel.

“—is that Kova? How old is he?”

The cat’s yellow eyes regarded Alfor with hostility. Honerva answered with that same hostility. “Twenty-eight deca-phoebs old. He fell ill, and so I began treating him with quintessence.” Kova’s mouth opened in a deranged parody of a grin, exposing tiny teeth daggers.

“No…” Alfor’s voice was a whisper.

“He revealed the truth to us,” Honerva continued impassively. “Quintessence is so much more than you can understand. It is _life_ itself.”

“You've gone too far.”

Honerva rolled her eyes, the absolute hatred she had held for King Alfor bubbling to the surface in one fell swoop. She whirled around to face him. Let him see what she had become. Let him see how much she abhorred the sight of him. “You've always been a coward!” She snarled.

Alfor went deathly pale. His voice cracked as it spoke her name. “Honerva—you…”

She didn't let him finish. She didn't want to hear anything this pathetic excuse for a king had to say. “You wish to close off our gateway to enlightenment! We should be _expanding_ it!”

Zarkon came to stand by her side, placing a large hand on Honerva's bony shoulder. “If we use Voltron, we can enlarge the opening to the other reality.” He said.

Alfor shook his head. “It's madness!” He hissed. “This prolonged exposure to quintessence has poisoned your minds!”

“We've only scratched the surface!” Zarkon reasoned. “We can rule this entire universe! We can live forever! All of us!”

Alfor turned and left with only a simple, “I cannot be a part of this.”

This was the last thing she heard before everything dulled, her limbs turned to solid cement and she collapsed on the ground after heaving a weak sigh.

_Honerva? Honerva!_

_Zarkon_ , she thought weakly.

Bang, black, gone.

Nothingness.

———

She awoke to him by her side, and a mountain of fluffy pillows engulfing her small frame.

Honerva knew just based on her heart rate and her constant shaking that she would not be able to make it for much longer.

Skeletal hands gripped the bedsheets, and pain like a dagger twisting her insides shot through Honerva's body, eliciting a cry of pain and a moan.

How pathetic had she become? She couldn't even form a coherent sentence.

“We have—we have to…”

Zarkon's hand covered her slender one, his eyes regarding her with concern. Should she have been more healthy, Honerva would have relished in this rare moment of affection, but alas: she was dying.

“Get back, get back, get back—”

“What is it, my love?”

“Quintess—” she managed to choke out. “Quintessence…”

His eyes flashed in fear. Honerva’s blurry gaze rested on the ceiling. If she didn't acknowledge the pain, it wasn't there. It wasn't there. _It wasn't there._

“Quintessence is life.” She whispered in that fading voice that was now hers. A painful breath in, a painful breath out. “Into—into the rift.”

_Yes, yes, Honerva. Tell him. We have to go into the rift. Into the rift. Yes._

A strong hand gripped the side of her face, turning the feeble thing to face the stern visage of Zarkon. “How?” He boomed.

“We—we must—we must have _Voltron_ …” She answered.

_Yes, yes, Honerva. Tell him. Into the rift. Into the rift. Yes. We must have Voltron to go into the rift. We must go into the rift._

“Voltron! Voltron! Voltron! Voltron! Voltron! _Voltron!”_

Honerva gasped, feeling as though a thousand knives were penetrating her throat.

_“Voltron...it is the only way…”_

Black. Nothing.

Gone.

———

The first thing she noticed upon awakening was the amazingness of the light around her. Of the feeling the light gave as it gently caressed her shriveled skin, of the soft warmth quintessence brought her.

Honerva felt a small smile curve upon her lips as her fragile eyes opened to see her floating amidst the energy.

For a fleeting second, the Altean alchemist wondered if she was dead.

_Is this what death feels like?_

But no. The warmth was getting hotter. Like the oven temperature now.

Hoverna's smile twitched as the warmth became uncomfortable. It grew to encompass the entirety of her body, and all Honerva could do was burn in silence.

_My God, it **burns**._

Much too hot now. Much too hot.

It _burns_.

_My God, I'm on fire!!_

For a fleeting second, Honerva wondered if she was in hell.

She resisted the urge to scream as her body was burned alive, becoming a charred Honerva. The alchemist squirmed frantically, her heartbeat beating much too fast.

This was pure torture.

This was raw pain.

This was _fucking brutal!!!_

Make it stop.

_Make it stop!_

_Makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstop_!!!!

When the fire had met its peak, Honerva finally found the voice to scream.

She screamed and screamed and screamed.

_Make it stop! Make it stop! Please! **Make it stop!**_

Finally, the fire died down to a reasonable pain, and Honerva passed out for the third time.

———

Haggar.

That was her.

Right?

She didn't remember.

_“You're looking haggard today, ___ are you feeling alright?”_

And then...nothing.

No memories of her past life.

No fleeting moments of deja vu.

Just nothing.

Blankness.

She was Haggar. And he was Zarkon. And that was all she remembered.

She was the loyal witch. He was the Galra emperor. And that was all she remembered.

Haggar's spindly fingers touched on a small book, a notebook of some kind. Something inside of her clicked as her fingers brushed the residual dust off of the small book.

But that couldn't have been right.

Haggar hated to read and write. She hardly had time with all the magic she performed.

And still, she opened the inside cover, skeletal fingers tracing the intricate lettering.

_To Honerva, with love… Zarkon._

Haggar gasped.

_Honerva?_

Who was Honerva?

_“Don't worry, it’s only Kova! He's from our reality!”_

_“I think we should call him Lotor. It's pretty, don't you think, love?”_

_“You're looking haggard today, Honerva. Are you feeling alright?”_

Haggar shut the book and her old life along with the book, and walked away, the voices of times and people past ringing accusingly in her ears.

Haggar promptly ignored them. For some reason, they caused her pain.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a problem with backstories. I just love writing them.  
>    
> As for the Voltron fic, I fully blame my friend. She knows exactly who she is. 
> 
> If she reads this: I hate you so much.


End file.
